Love Story
by FoolForSpuffy147
Summary: When Buffy gains a new perspective on her relationship with Angel, it leads to her finding her true love where she least expected it.


No need to worry about The New Roommate. I'm still working on it and my novel. I just thought I'd have a little fun.

Non-betaed because this is just a fun one-shot.

Prepare for a little anachronism stew here, people, because this is sort of my rewrite of Lie to Me. Taylor Swift will also be around, having started her career in 1989 instead of being born in that year.

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or the song "Love Story."

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><p><em>We were both young when I first saw you.<em>

_I close my eyes and the flashback starts:_

_I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air._

Buffy barely heard Ms. Beakman as she flipped through the pages of _Romeo and Juliet_. She daydreamed of the night she first met Angel, only she imagined him at the Bronze, with her standing at the balcony and him reciting the lines from the famous balcony scene from the play.

"Miss Summers?" Ms. Beakman asked.

Buffy shook out of her daydream. "Yes, Ms. Beakman?"

"How are you finding the play so far?"

Buffy smiled. "Honestly, Ms. Beakman, I'm kind of liking the play. I mean, two people who are willing to risk everything for love, in spite of the fact that their families hate each other? Plus, Romeo is so devoted to Juliet."

"Yes, he is. But you should also recall that in the first act of the play, he was pining over Rosaline. One scene later, he sees Juliet and all of a sudden she's the center of his world. Does that sound like a devoted man to you?"

Buffy's smile began to falter. "Not really."

"How long did it take for them to fall in love with each other?" Ms. Beakman asked.

"Not long, really. It was love at first sight."

"Do you think they had a strong foundation for their love beyond physical appearance and the circumstances in which they fell in love with each other?"

"Well, it's love. Isn't it supposed to transcend reason?"

"Do you think what Romeo and Juliet feel for each other is real love? Keep in mind that they are teenagers. Juliet is somewhere from fourteen to sixteen years old."

"But she was beautiful to him and she found him equally beautiful."

"But remember that appearances can be deceiving. Just because someone looks like a perfect mate doesn't mean that they are."

"Oh?"

"And think about their interactions the morning after their wedding. All they think about is how much they want to stay with each other, for time to stop. They never think about the future or talk about anything other than how much they love each other."

"But then what's the point of the play?" Cordelia asked, raising her hand. "I mean, if Leonardo DiCaprio showed me anything, it's that Romeo and Juliet was about love...isn't it?

"It is, but not _true_ love. It's about _young _love, about how you want that love to last forever. The true tragedy of _Romeo and Juliet_ was that they were so caught up in their desire to prove their families wrong that they didn't think about the consequences of where their relationship would take them. If you read forward, you will see that later on in the play, even though he loves Juliet, he doesn't think about in spite of the fact that they only knew each other for a day, he decides to marry her. Nor does he think about the consequences of killing Tybalt. Romeo and Juliet let their infatuations blind them to reason and they end up paying the price for it."

"Oh." Buffy sat back down, her daydream deflated.

"It's okay, Buffy. Many teenagers, and even literary critics and hollywood directors, misinterpret the play because they get caught up in the pathos without considering the logos."

"The what without the what?"

"The emotional appeal of the play versus the logical appeal of the play."

_See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns._

_See you make your way through the crowd_

_And say, "Hello, "_

_Little did I know..._

Ms. Beakman's words lingered as Buffy danced with her friends at the Bronze later that night. Buffy couldn't help but enjoy the live band that played. She turned to look at the stage at a young, tall blonde who played an acoustic guitar, watching as her curly hair swayed as she sang a song about how she was only herself around a special someone. Buffy couldn't help but smile as she listened to the lyrics.

Giles and Jenny Calendar were sitting at a table.

"She seems to be enjoying herself," Jenny said.

"That's a relief. Earlier today, she came into the library ranting about her English teacher not knowing anything about what it meant to love somebody."

"What are you talking about?" Jenny asked.

"Buffy is studying Romeo and Juliet for her class. I have to wonder if she saw herself in the role of Juliet."

"Why would you think that?"

"Buffy is in love with Angel."

"And does she make him happy?" Jenny asked.

"I would presume so. She acts kind of passive-aggressive to him at times, but I would guess that it's just normal teenage girl behavior."

"Rupert…" Jenny looked down and took a deep breath before she looked at Giles again. "I need to tell you something. And Buffy needs to know."

"Maybe you should tell me first," Giles said.

_That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles,_

_And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"_

_And I was crying on the staircase_

_Begging you, "Please don't go"_

_And I said..._

Buffy smiled at the sight of Angel as he entered the Bronze. Giles, however, also noticed Angel and approached the vampire before he could get close to Buffy.

"And what, may I ask, are you doing here?"

"Buffy and I were planning on going out on a date."

Jenny approached Angel. "Angel, I'm sorry to get in the way of your plans, but there's something I need to tell you."

Buffy folded her arms and waited until Jenny and Angel left the Bronze to have her say.

"Giles, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Buffy. Jenny and I will explain tomorrow."

Buffy huffed. "I'm going out on patrol."

Giles attempted to stop her, but was no match for her physical strength. As Buffy stormed out of the Bronze, the blonde singer transitioned into the chorus of a new song.

_"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone._

_I'll be waiting; all that's left to do is run._

_You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess,_

_It's a love story, baby, just say, 'Yes.'"_

_So I sneak out to the garden to see you._

_We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew_

_So close your eyes... escape this town for a little while._

After following Angel, Buffy found herself near a playground and found him discussing something with Jenny Calendar. She moved closer, intending on revealing herself, when she saw a pale brunette in a white dress dance her way towards Angel. Buffy decided to sneak downwind to eavesdrop on the conversation.

_Oh, oh._

_'Cause you were Romeo – I was a scarlet letter,_

_And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet."_

_But you were everything to me,_

_I was begging you, "Please don't go."_

"My Angel!" the pale brunette said.

"Hello, Drusilla," Angel said.

Jenny Calendar held out her cross. "I suggest you leave, Drusilla."

"Little gypsy should watch her neck around my Angel. Snap snap snap." Drusilla snapped her fingers close to Jenny's neck.

Jenny held her ground. Drusilla giggled and spun around.

"We are not alone here. The stars are singing to me." She starts dancing to a tune only she could hear. "Pretty music. Pretty, pretty music."

Jenny felt her blood boil, remembering what her ancestors told her about what the pale brunette vampire sang as she and the other members of the Whirlwind raided their camp.

"They cry out for mercy. They cry out for mercy."

Jenny reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a stake, stabbing it in the back of Drusilla's chest. Angel gasped as he watched his Childe fade into dust.

"You're lucky you were cursed with your soul, Angel," Jenny said. "I will see you tomorrow."

Angel stood by the jungle gym and knelt down on the ground, devastated at the loss of his Childe.

"Angel!" Buffy cried.

She ran to Angel and held him in her arms.

_And I said..._

_"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone._

_I'll be waiting; all that's left to do is run._

_You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess._

_It's a love story, baby, just say, 'Yes.'_

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked. "Who was she?"

Angel shook his head and maintained his composure. "Nobody you should really care about. She's gone now."

"But who is she? She's obviously important to you!"

"It doesn't matter."

"Hell yes, it does. I should know more about you other than the fact that you have a problem with sunlight and that you so happen to have a soul. What were you talking about and who was that vampire?"

Angel shook his head and walked away, leaving Buffy confused.

_Romeo, save me, they're try to tell me how to feel._

_This love is difficult but it's real._

_Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess._

_It's a love story, baby, just say, 'Yes.'"_

Buffy wandered around Sunnydale until she passed by an abandoned factory. She heard a male voice crying in agony and ran inside. To her surprise, she found Spike lying down on top of a long table, clutching a china doll close to him. Spike looked at Buffy with his eyes wet and red from crying. All of a sudden his tears turned to anger and he threw the china doll onto the bed as he jumped at Buffy.

Buffy fought him off easily with a quick throw which sent him across the room. Spike roared and went into his game face, fangs and all, as he bounced back and hit her in the gut, followed by her hitting him in the nose. With one sweeping kick to his feet, Spike was down on the ground as Buffy stood over him, armed with her stake.

"You killed her!" Spike cried.

"Her?" Buffy remembered the pale skinned vampire. "Drusilla."

"She was weak! It's bad enough that you're fighting alongside the one who made her the way she is. I bet he asked you to kill her for him."

"Wait, what?" Buffy backed off and held a cross in front of her with her other hand still holding the stake high. "Angel...created Drusilla?"

Spike noticed the shaky look in Buffy's eyes and began forming a plan. His face returned to its human form and he sat down at the head of the long table.

"Yes. Yes, he did. He was her sire. And for the record, his name is Angelus."

"That was his old name."

"It's all the same to me. I'm guessing that Captain Forehead isn't telling you much about who he used to be."

Buffy took a seat at the other end of the table and put her stake and cross on top of it.

"Angel went off with my teacher, Jenny Calendar. Drusilla agitated her and started singing something that really made Ms. Calendar pissed off. Ms. Calendar was the one who staked Drusilla."

"I see. And what did Drusilla say that caused Ms. Calendar to do that?'

"She called her a gypsy and started signing...something about pretty music and people crying for mercy."

Spike's eyes lit up. "The gypsy troupe that cursed Angel. Your Jenny must be a descendant of them."

"Oh?"

"Yes. The reason why your boytoy is the way he is in the first place is because he murdered the daughter of the head of a band of gypsies we found in Romania."

"Who's we?"

"Angelus, Darla, Drusilla, and me. We were known as the Whirlwind."

"The Scourge of Europe. Yeah. I know. So Angel...I mean Angelus sucked the blood of some random gypsy and her family decided to retaliate by giving him his soul back?"

"Not that it did any good. He just ran off from the group for a long time. I didn't see him again until I was in China hunting down a Slayer. Found out later from Darla that he was protecting some family of missionaries. Too bad we got to them anyway."

"So much for helping the helpless," Buffy said.

"The last time I saw Angelus before coming to this Hellhole was in World War 2 on a German submarine. We were captured by some Nazis and he ended up siring one of the crew members in order to get us out."

"How could he?! He knows what happens!"

"He said that the ends justified the means. We got out of the sub and I went off to New York. Angelus went off to gods-know-where. Next thing I knew, I ended up here and found out my sire was in town fighting for the white hats."

"So he sired you?"

"Technically, Drusilla did. But Angelus was the one who made me who I am now. He constantly bullied and tortured me, telling me that I was just Drusilla's boytoy and how useless I was."

Buffy nodded, but she folded her arms and gave Spike a skeptical look. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I thought you should know the man behind the brooding face you claim to love so much. I love messing with Peaches every now and then."

"Do you still want to kill me?"

"Not right now. I might still go after that Calendar woman."

Buffy held up her cross. "Don't you dare. I still want to get more information out of her about Angel."

Spike got up from his seat and walked towards Buffy. He grabbed her both of her wrists, making her drop her cross and stake to the floor.

"How about this then, cutie? Truce?"

Buffy looked deep into Spike's eyes and nodded, fighting to get out of Spike's grip. "Truce."

The next thing Buffy knew, Spike pushed his lips against hers and pulled her up against him to deepen the kiss. In spite of the surprise, Buffy closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Spike, savoring the heat of the kiss. However, Buffy's slayer instincts kicked in and she pushed Spike away, leaving him laughing as she ran home.

###

The next day, Angel asked Buffy what went on. Buffy was unusually quiet, saying that she went on patrol, keeping her kiss from Spike secret from him.

"Angel, I don't think you and I are gonna work out," she said.

Angel looked at her in shock. "What do you mean?'

"You refuse to tell me anything about your past. And from what I heard, it isn't pretty."

"That was another life, Buffy. And it's not important."

"Oh? Then why is it that when you got your soul, you didn't try and seek out a Slayer to help? Did the curse prompt you to want to do good or did it just make you feel guilt? Jenny told me that you can never be truly happy."

Angel stood there with his jaw hung open in shock.

"I suggest you get out of my room before my mother comes."

Angel nodded and did so.

A while later, Angel returned to the Summers home and felt the barrier around the door. He smelled incense and herbs from inside the house as Buffy and Willow were trying on Halloween costumes.

_I got tired of waiting_

_Wondering if you were ever coming around._

Buffy couldn't believe the chaos that ensued as she wandered around the streets on Halloween night. She chose to wear an old dress her mother used to wear, a long flowy dress from the 60s. Willow, however, got her costume from Ethan's and told Buffy as soon as the strange change happened.

_My faith in you was fading_

_When I met you on the outskirts of town._

As she got closer to the edge of town where the shop was located, she found Spike fighting off a strange armored demon with a green face and a jewel on its forehead. The demon cut Spike with a sword. Spike stabbed the demon back with a switchblade, but it only set back the demon temporarily. Blood poured from the demon into Spike's stomach. Buffy ran ahead and kicked and punched the demon with all of her might. When her fist made contact with the gem at the center of its head, the demon immediately turned to dust.

Buffy turned to Spike. "Are you okay?"

"Sodding demon attacked me from out of nowhere," Spike said.

All of a sudden, Spike began to glow as a bright light surrounded him. The next thing Buffy knew, she felt a heart beating under her hand.

"Oh bloody hell!" Spike said.

_And I said…_

_"Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone._

_I keep waiting for you but you never come._

_Is this in my head? I don't know what to think."_

"I guess you have a reason to stay after all," Buffy said.

Spike nodded, still confused, but enjoying the feel of Buffy's hand holding his.

"Now come on. We have to take care of a spellcaster."

###

**One year later…**

It took a while for Spike to get used to being human. It was arranged so that he would stay with Giles, using the name William. He lived under the assumption of the Sunnydale citizens that he was Giles's nephew and worked at the Magic Box. He enrolled in UC Sunnydale and quickly found a new Big Bad for Buffy to take down: the descendants from the same Initiative that attempted to capture him in World War II. Thanks to some spells from Jenny, the Scooby Gang was able to take down the Initiative without any casualties. Although one of the soldiers was interested in Buffy, he backed off when he saw her running into Spike's arms and watched her kiss him in front of everyone.

After defeating the Initiative, research led the Scooby Gang to realize Angel's true destiny of defeating The Wolf, The Ram, and the Hart. Angel decided to leave around Christmastime while Jenny contacted her uncle and asked him to have one of her cousins keep an eye on him there. Jenny stayed to tutor Willow in using magic, helping her to tap into her natural potential without developing a lust for power.

The last Big Bad that Buffy took down before joining Spike in UC Sunnydale was the Mayor who attempted to ascend into full demonhood on their graduation day. Spike fought alongside Buffy as she led the Mayor to his death via dynamite in the school library.

_He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said..._

As Buffy gathered with her friends outside the school, Spike turned to Buffy and got down on one knee.

_"Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone._

_I love you, and that's all I really know._

_I talked to your dad – go pick out a white dress_

_It's a love story, baby, just say, 'Yes.'"_

The other members of the Scooby Gang stood in shock.

Spike looked up at Buffy with hope in his eyes. "I never thought I would be brought back to life. I never thought I would be happy as a human. I don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker; I follow my blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of my brain. So I made a lot of mistakes. A lot of wrong bloody calls. A hundred plus years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of. You. When I say I love you, it's not because I want you, or because I can't have you - it has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try... I've seen your kindness, and your strength, I've seen the best and the worst of you and I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy. Will you marry me?"

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh._

Buffy could only nod as tears welled up in her eyes. She kneeled down next to Spike and kissed him passionately. He slid the ring onto her finger.

"What's going on?" Giles asked, with Jenny following behind him.

Buffy turned to Giles and held up her ring. "Fire bad. Ring pretty!"

Giles chuckled as he smiled at Jenny, who had her own diamond ring on her left hand. Oz looked at Willow and held her hand lovingly. Xander and Cordelia smiled at each other.

Giles and Jenny Calendar decided to elope that summer. They took ownership of the Magic Box, which became the new Scooby Gang headquarters. Cordelia and Xander married after Xander became the manager of the local construction company and Cordelia became the manager of the Magic Box. Willow and Oz, on the other hand, decided to move in together and waited until college was over before they married.

The Scooby Gang was informed that a new Slayer named Faith was called to help Angel in Los Angeles. With the help of the spitfire brunette, Angel created his own team that eventually took down the Senior Partners at Wolfram and Hart. By defeating them, the Powers rewarded Angel with his humanity. He celebrated by finally showing Faith how much he loved her. Faith's Watcher, Wesley, was able to recruit one of the lawyers from Wolfram and Hart and have her work for them. She fell in love with the muscle of the team, a young man named Charles Gunn. Wesley, on the other hand, fell in love with one of the women who needed their help, a lovely scientist named Winifred Burkle or Fred for short.

Spike and Buffy married on Halloween during Buffy's first year in college. Buffy found herself pregnant a year later and a curly blonde goddess from Hell was going to destroy the universe to get her hands on said baby. However, by discovering her weakness with the help of a vengeance demon named Anyanka and the help of a ring from the treasure of Amara, Buffy and Spike defeated Glory just as she was about to open up the Hellmouth. Even though the Hellmouth was permanently shut by Glory's defeat, the town of Sunnydale remained intact. A kind witch named Tara became Spike and Buffy's nanny and helped take care of baby Dawn as well as a post-cancer Joyce while Spike and Buffy continued to fight demons at night. The treasure of Amara kept the Summers family well off as Buffy became known as one of the longest-living Slayers in history.

Every Halloween, Buffy and Spike would dress as a bride and a groom and looked back on when their relationship began.

"I should send a card to Ms. Beakman," Buffy said as she sat on her front porch. "If it wasn't for her, I don't think we would be together."

_'Cause we were both young when I first saw you..._

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><p>This was inspired by a fic challenge on Elysian Fields. Please like and review!<p> 


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